Queen
by InkyTheHalfling
Summary: The Avengers have failed to stop Loki's plans, and months later he has taken over the planet with little results. And now he is looking for something most kings need; a queen. Jane is not happy, as Jane would be. This summary is awful, ouais je sais, but please read and give a little feedback.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Ok, so I was making dinner and this idea come to me. I'm hoping it can take off, but I'm sure . This is a total Lokane fic (I ship Loki and Jane ever since I read Fallen Star). **

**Disclaimer: If I owned Marvel, I would have had Loki and Jane end up together. Maybe he would have fell with Thor. Maybe he would have fallen to Earth from the bridge. Maybe she would have met him when he planned to take over the world, and convinced him otherwise. But instead, she fell for Thor, Loki failed at taking over the planet (he shouldn't feel bad- even Chuck Norris would lose to Robert Downey Jr.), and now we have to deal with the emotional roller coaster of Thor2…**

* * *

"I don't see why you're so upset over this, Jane," Darcy muttered as they stood in line. "It's just a test. If you don't like it, fail it, and you're out of it for good."

"You know me, Darcy," Jane said, bristling. "I can't just _fail_ at something. And the reason I'm angry that we are _commanded_ to do this. I mean seriously, Loki acts like—"

"Like he rules the world?" Darcy finished sardonically. Jane didn't reply. Almost 6 months ago, the UN finally announced their complete surrender to Loki and his army, following the death of the final member of the Avergers; somehow, Loki managed to defeat the Hulk himself. The Chitauri army returned to whatever hell-hole he found them in, with a legion or two remaining has his personal guard. The world governments were dismantled and he became king of the entire plant, now officially referred to as Midgard. He aided in the rebuilding of cites ( with his own modifications) and created new laws (which Jane resented the most). If she was honest with herself, all institutions of education and information were controlled by his government. Jane's research was soon restricted, and she was now a professor at Harvard. Not that she didn't like teaching—she simply didn't like being told what to teach and not being allowed to continue her own research. With her own studies of governmental sciences squashed, Darcy joined Jane as an assistant. The two worked into an almost content life–until Loki's newest command.

Loki was looking for a _queen_.

"I mean, this is the most ridiculous way to find a wife!" Jane angrily whispered to Darcy as the line of women inched forward. One of the proctors stepped onto the platform in front of the door and gave instructions again. He looked like he was sick of existence, and he sounded like it too.

"As ordered by King Loki, all young women in institutes of education or occupations requiring a masters or doctoral degree must take the GAT— the General Aptitude Test. Your intelligence will be tested in all fields; Asgardian Arts, Midgardian Arts, Sciences and Magic, Languages, Histories, and Mathematics."

"See? I'm not worried because I know I'm going to fail," Darcy muttered to Jane, making her friend crack a small smile.

"The 100 women with the highest scores," the instructor continued, "will be taken to the royal palace in Paris, France. They will stay there for 2 months, given whatever they ask for beauty treatments to prepare to meet the king. Whoever he likes the most will become Queen. Good luck to each of you."

"It's like the story of Ester," a girl near Jane said. She recognized her as one of her students. "We're going to try to make ourselves beautiful enough to marry the king."

"And I suppose God will use us to deliver our people from him?" her friend remarked disdainfully.

"Maybe," she responded, stung.

Jane continued to go through the line, nearly to the door now.

"This might not be such a bad thing," Darcy mused. "Maybe the one girl who becomes queen will be able to make a difference."

"Oh definitely," Jane sarcastically replied. "More likely the other 99 girls will become concubines and we'll be set back a few centuries. We've already been limited intellectually. Now comes the cultural destruction."

"More like she kills him in bed, and reclaims the planet for us," Darcy replied, grinning. Jane didn't grin back. Darcy sighed and wrapped her arms around Jane, resting her head on her shoulder. "It will be ok, Jane. We probably won't even be picked. Top 100 smartest women in the world? What are the chances?"

The creator of the Foster Theory felt she was just smart enough to come close. And it scared her.

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**What do you think? Talk to me.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Yay! Followers! **

* * *

"I _know_ I didn't pass," Darcy moaned, turning in Jane's swivel chair. It had taken hours to get into the building, check in, and then take the extensive exam. "That test made me feel even dumber than I feel teaching with you."

"Tanks, Jane muttered, furiously grading papers.

"How doya think you did?"

"Fine."

" 'Fine'? What does that mean?"

"That means I have an hour before my next class to finish these papers, so if you could stop talking about the stupid test and help me—"

"Ok, ok!" Darcy got up and took half the stack. They graded in silence for a moment (well, Jane did; Darcy was busily drawing a picture to illustrate how stupid the paper she had to grade was) before Jane finally spoke.

"I mean, I didn't know about a lot of the stuff, and I was guessing with the magic and Asgardian histories. And though I don't want to be one of the 100, I can't help but be disappointed in myself."

Darcy began a mustache on another paper. "I'm sure you did great, Jane. How great, we'll have to wait and see."

"Why are you drawing a mustache on that graph?"

* * *

Loki had taken to creating an ice place.

The one in London was not to his liking, nor was the recommended one in Paris. The one previously called the Kremlin was under renovations to become Loki's permanent palace, extending the building further. Grander.

For now, Loki occupied his free time with building a palace in the place his worthless assistants complained of being "uninhabitable". Loki snorted dismissively at the thought; the place was hardly Jotunheim.

There was something immensely satisfying about building _this_ palace, his own, private palace, with his own hands. The only gift his birth parents had afforded him. As he looked out on his with red eyes upon his icicle throne, he felt proud the frosted halls that glittered in the sunlight, the nearly invisible floors under his feet, and the transparent coffered cathedral ceiling above him. When he was finished, it would be like nothing in the nine realms.

Loki sighed, rising from his throne. One day, he would finish. For now, his kingdom needed him.

On his helicopter, Loki's assistant waited.

"Sir," she began in her usual rushed tone, "You have a 2 pm meeting with the UN council about the new healthcare laws and renewable energy. Several cities are behind in repairs; apparently there isn't enough money in some places. Also, a few nations have petitioned to keep their borders."

Loki sat in his seat with little regard for her. She didn't care. "The GAT test has been administered in most areas; a few heavily populated cities are behind schedule, but for the most part the results are being analyzed."

"What do the scores look like?"

"From what they say… dismal, sir. Most of these subjects simply aren't taught, and everyone had to make the best guesses they could."

"Hmm." was Loki's only reply.

"And the public relations officer said he needed to talk with you about reviving your public image. The people hate you, sir."

"There would be little hope for them if they felt otherwise…"

* * *

**Ok, so I wanted to take the plot slow, but the results of the test are coming up soon. Thanks to all my lovely followers!( also, REVIEWS!)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Ok, I think that we have established I suck at updating at a normal pace. I thank you all for staying with me. I wanted to thank the new followers, but I lost track of who was new, so thank you to FutureAuthoress13, LadySaphire, LittleWolfBlood , SPNMistress , The Last Fallen Angel, gabertusz , himyadollz , neverwinternights, silvershamroc17, and wccdragon for encouraging me to sit down and write already. I will try to better about this. Ok, I'll shut up.**

**Disclaimer: Nothing is mine except that which is mine. **

* * *

"Jane, just let me do it."

"I know how to work my own projector, Darcy—"

"Yeah, but you can't reach it and I don't want to watch the broadcast on your chalk boards," Darcy gently nudged Jane out the way and grabbed the stick to pull down the screen. "It's ok that you're only five feet tall, Jane."

Given that Jane had one of the largest lecture halls and she was the only professor offering to students the chance to watch the broadcast live, the room was extremely packed with anxious young women, students and teachers alike. Today was the day. Worldwide, the results of the GAT were going to be broadcast, live.

"It's starting!" someone in the room shouted, and a hush fell over the room. The screen changed from the standby image to a young woman in a pinstripe suit standing in front of a lectern. She had long bleached blond hair, brown eyes, and the look of a woman who was not being paid well enough for the stress of her job.

"Hello, ladies and gentlemen of Midgard. My name is Anne Sharplin, and I am head assistant to our King Loki, liberator of Midgard, conquer of the Avengers. In my hands I have the list of the 100 top scores for the General Aptitude Test. I will be reading the names in alphabetical order."

Anne broken the gold-green seal on the black folder in her hands as the camera zoomed out to give a view of the screen behind her.

"Each of the following young women have been chosen, and will receive their royal invitation in two days. Please, each of you, use this time to pack the few things you would like to bring with you. Basic essentials, including clothing, will be provided. Bring only personal items."

Anne took a deep breath, and Jane could hear most of the people in her lecture hall do the same.

"Meria Aarons."

A the face of a blonde woman with an enormous smile appeared on the screen. It was the picture taken before the test was administered.

"Hena Atkins. Cierra Amos. Zaimia Chapple."

One of Jane colleges began crying- it was her sister whose face flashed onto the screen.

"Olga Corrum. Mary Coulbough. Adriana Edun. Lupita Fofana. Jane Foster."

Jane was grateful to be sitting in her chair, otherwise she would have fallen to the ground. She could barely hear Darcy trying to console her as she began to panic.

"Felicia de Maurier."

"Breathe, Jane, breathe! Does anyone have water or something? She's freaking out!"

"Fredricka Rivera."

* * *

It took Darcy an hour to calm Jane down, and afterwards it wasn't much better.

"They can't make me go!" Jane screamed.

"Your neighbors are going to call the cops on us if you don't stop," Darcy said, searching through Jane's tiny apartment for food.

"What are they going to do, drag me away?"

"Yes."

Jane collapsed onto her sofa, her mind racing. "I'll run."

"They'll catch you."

"I'll be a goat herder in the New Zealand mountains. They'll never find me."

"You don't anything about goats. And didn't you hear about the global defense security thingy they set up? Eyes everywhere, Jane. You can't escape."

"I can try."

"Here," Darcy gave her a glass of whiskey and sat next her. "Let's think this through. You run, they catch you, they watch you so close you can barely breathe right? OR, you go through with this and be all supper spy and try to end the crazy."

"Not your kill-the-king plan again," Jane downed the whiskey.

"Cesar _must_ die, and who better than Jane Foster to do it?" Darcy put the whiskey on the table. "Now c'mon. Let's see what we want to pack for you."

* * *

**Very short, but the next chapter is coming soon lovelies (I'm not lying this time, I'm probably writing as you read). PLEASE REVIEW. Even if it's just one word. Really. I'm not joking. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Told you it was quick coming. The song for this chapter is Team by Lorde. Thanks to new followers LadyReaper1992 and Luftherz(and anyone else I may have missed, sorry luv)! **

**Disclaimer: If I owned anything Marvel, I would be working on Phase Three right now, not writing fanfic, so I obliviously don't own anything.**

* * *

Darcy gave a good fight, but in the end she was only able to wave goodbye to Jane from the steps, not accompany her to the airport. Jane was taken by a squad of police cars to city hall, where she was finger printed as they drew blood and put her things through a metal detector. All of her equipment set the thing off, of course, so she spent the next hour explaining to everyone _no it's not a weapon_ and _no I can't live without it_.

"This is ridiculous!" Jane said for the millionth time. Her newly appointed bodyguard (she named him Bob since he didn't give her a name) rolled his eyes as he hefted her heavy suitcases into the trunk. Half of Jane's things had been confiscated simply because they were too big to fit in a limo trunk. "Miss, the king has commanded that you and the other 99 women be taken to the palace this way. If you stopped fighting us, perhaps it would go soother."

"Why the heck do you need a blood sample, finger prints, hair sample, eye scan, voice recog system, and check my personal items?"

"Miss, just get in the car."

Jane huffed and slid into the limo. Inside was another young woman with dark skin and wild black hair. She was sitting next to her bodyguard, a tall silent man who barely fit into the car. She smiled at Jane and reached out to shake her hand. "Hi! I'm Anita de Marais."

"Jane Foster. Astrophysicist." Jane shook her hand.

"Oh! Literature and history professor. I could never pick which one and biology's a habit, but I mostly just read about things, I love knowledge, you know? The pursuit of it! No destination, only a journey, you?" Anita stopped her rambling and looked a Jane expectantly. "Bob" slid into the car and closed the door, nodding at Anita's bodyguard (_Bill? Bill._ Jane decided to call him Bill.)

"Science is my thing. I brought as much of my equipment with me, though I don't know when I'll use it."

"Oh I know! I wasn't able to pack my entire library, so I had to choose which ones to bring and it was like picking children, you know? I brought the classics like Jane Eyre and all of Jane Austen, but the Iliad too and my Shakespeare collection, and also my volumes on the major dynasties of the world as well as the volumes on the religions, myths, legends, cultures…I'm boring you, aren't I?"

"No! No," Jane said. Bill mimed a yawn, earning a laugh from Bob and a friendly nudge from Anita.

"Thanks a lot Jason," Anita grumbled with a smile. Jane raised an eyebrow. "Jason and I kinda grew up together, so he weaseled his way into being assigned as my bodyguard," Anita explained.

"I still don't know Bob here's name," Jane said, giving "Bob" a glance. He gave her a withering look. "Locke. Nathan Locke. Satisfied?"

"No." Jane muttered, aware that she sounded like a child as she turned to star out the window. Anita looked as if she couldn't bear the tension, nervously tucking one of her wild curls behind her ear. "Are you excited Jane?"

"_Excited_ isn't the word I'd use."

"I already read the pamphlet on what to expect—"

"A million times," Jason muttered.

"—Have you read yours?"

"No," Jane turned to look at her. Anita gave a wide grin. "Three months. We will each have scheduled visits with Loki; in that time we are basically living at a holiday resort in Versailles. Ask for it, it's yours; we'll have access all the literature on the planet, best chefs to be found, botanical gardens, labs, spas. We can study what we want, do what we want, between the visits with the king."

"Except go home," Jane said in a dead pan tone. Anita winced. "Yeah. Except that. But it's only three months, Jane. If you want to go home, do your best not to impress him. What are the odds that he'll pick you out of 100 other women, some of which who _want_ this?"

"Do _you_ want this?" Jane asked, raising an eyebrow. Anita shook her head, looking down at the book in her hands.

"All I've ever wanted is a quite existence. I can continue to be a wall flower, even in the presence of a king."

* * *

Loki lay in his chambers, wishing for nothing more to go back to building his arctic palace. Yet, he was needed here, to choose his queen.

(He wished he could trust the task to Anne, but she was the most capable of his servants and she was too dim to pick someone to his liking, no; he would have to do it himself. As with everything in this miserable realm).

As his eyes gazed haphazardly over the list of women, he couldn't help but think none of them would live up to his standards. His last wife was nice, but they differed too much to make a completely compatible pair.

(He refused to think of Sigyn right now; refused to think of her at all. She was dead and gone and none of his guilt would bring his ever-loyal shadow back.)

These women were as intelligent as the realm could offer, and some of them were bound to be attractive…

Loki's eyes caught on a certain name. _Jane Foster_. Loki grinned to himself. Well, well. His "brother's" little pet had turned out to be an intelligent creature, though what she saw in Thor, Loki would never know.

"Anne!"

Anne ran into the room. "Yes, sir?"

"Change the schedule. Miss Jane Foster is the first woman I want to see."

"B-"

Loki gave Anne a withering look that made her shrink back a bit. "Yes sir. Of course, sir. Anything else sir?"

"Bring me my brother. I wish to be amused."

* * *

**Yes, alright, this one was short too. "You write such short chapters, Inky!" Yes, I do. It's just how my brain breaks up the story. I'll be back soon; up next, Jane meets the other 98 women and not all are a resistant as she. Meanwhile, Loki is eager to meet Jane after a little heart-to-heart with his beloved brother.**

**Comments, Questions, Concerns? A little lonely, need a good playlist or a podcast(I recommend Welcome to Night Vale, great stuff.)? You know where the review button is. Talk to me.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Ok, yes, this took awhile to get here. I know. I'm **_**sorry**_**. All I had was my kindle for a while and lemme tell you, when they say "experimental browser", they mean **_**experimental**_**. I couldn't update chapters from it. Thanks for all the new follows and favorites, I hope I don't disappoint. **

**Now, on with the show!**

**Disclaimer: All Marvel characters belong to Disney. All original characters are not copyrighted, but we are all grownups and know they belong to me. No money was made with this, only time wasted. Don't sue me.**

* * *

"My name is Anne, and I am charged with your well being as well as many…many things. I am also the king's assistant," said a tired looking young woman, who briskly lead them down the halls, her black Louboutins clicking loudly. Anita was busily taking pictures of everything from the floor to the ceiling. "Your luggage has been taken to your assigned suite. There is a map of the palace, marked with your suite. No cameras when you visit the king. No recording devices. Nothing. You will be searched, and it would be so much easier if you didn't bring anything to prolong the procedure. You get to visit for an hour. He likes you, you get to stay a little longer. He doesn't, we have a plane ticket and car ready to take you back home. You can roam if you like, or stay in your suite during free time, days you are not visiting or after your visit. Visiting hours are noon through 10pm, and everyone who is call for that day must be in the common room, where we are going now. Any questions so far? Good," she said without letting them answer. They entered a cavernous ball room where the other 98 women sat, talking. Everyone stopped and stared at them.

"Everyone," Anne called out to the room, "This is Dr. Jane Foster and Dr. Anita de Beolio. They are the last of the group to join us. Please stay in this room until dinner time, when you will each be dismissed to your rooms until noon, when the first 10 women will be escorted back here. Thank you for your participation, and be kind to one another."

A snicker sounded through the room.

"_We will be watching,_" Anne emphasized with a thinly veiled threat in her tone. She quickly clicked out of the room, the doors closed by silent doormen behind her. Jane and Anita stood on the steps awkwardly. The women where obviously divided into camps, three to be exact. One group was obviously sizing them up while the other ignored them. The last group seemed…quite friendly actually. Most of them gave a small wave or smile. "Come over, we don't bite!" a petit woman said. Anita immediately went over, sitting on an empty spot at the plush ottoman. Jane stood by the group a little awkwardly.

"Hi!" the woman said. "I'm Kira, from Germany. And this is…" Kira continued down the line until she had named the other 21 woman in the group. When she was done, Zahara, an archeologist from Chad, said, "You might as well know the lay of the land here; everyone has divided into three camps. It is best you choose one."

"It's totally Mean Girls here," Amy, a hacker who couldn't be more than 16 said, as typing furiously on her laptop. "But don't worry, you can sit with us."

Seeing her opening, Kira took over again. "We'd be horrible if we didn't help you out," she pointed to the group of women who had only given Jane and Anita a passing glance as they entered. "Those are the feminists…and yes, they named themselves that. They hate the idea of this whole thing; the parading about the king and competing with each other to be the king's wife."

"I think I'd fit in,' Jane muttered. Kira shrugged. "Go ahead. But I'd wait until they've had a moment to get over their outrage that yet another set of women were brought into this. Over there are the trophy wives," she gestured to the group that was still, clearly, sizing up Jane, whispering to each other. Jane stared down a few and they stared back with a sneer. "The feminists gave them that name, but they don't really talk to anyone else, so they couldn't refute it. They'd stab each other in the face without a second thought, but they know together they can at least weed us out as completion."

"And what's this group called?" Anita asked.

"Geeks? Nerds?" Kira shrugged again. "We're here because we are intelligent and love to learn. No more, no less. At the end of all this, we'll go home with a good story and hopefully a few new friends."

Anita looked so pleased she could have glowed. "Well, I know who I'm going to stick with," she said, and the other women welcomed her. Jane opened the navy blue folder Anne had handed to her when she got out the car. Inside was, as Anne said, a map of Versailles and the Louvre, the times meals would be served, and an itinerary for the next—

"27 days?!" Jane exclaimed, interrupting Anita's excited chatter about the French revolution. "We are stuck here for a month?"

"Did you _read _the brochure?" Kira asked. Anita shook her head and mouthed _no_.

"I have serious work to do!" Jane continued to complain loudly. Though she didn't notice, the entire room was listening now. "Classes to teach, planetary alignments—"

"Skype your class, watch the stars from the roof and balconies," another woman suggested. "I had to leave my work at the orphanage for this. 38 cases were put on hold. That's 38 recently orphaned children that were paired with families that now have to wait. You know how many families are willing to take in extra mouths to feed? Less than half of the number before the invasion. And then number of children in need? Tripled. I've been trying to dictate directions to my assistant to keep the process moving."

"The wifi's great!" called one of the girls sitting in a corner, doing some seriously unserious work on tumblr. "I've been blogging ever since I got here, and the upload speed is fast."

"We all sacrificed something when we were dragged here," one of the feminists said. Heads bobbed in agreement. "Family, friends, work,. Reconstruction, sense of self. I was coordinating with what's left of Stark Industries and Unicef to create shelters and schools in developing countries that were caught in the middle of the War when I was ripped away. As if losing our freedom wasn't enough—"

"Treason!" one of the trophy wives called out.

"Shut up you idiot!" one of the feminist replied.

"I'm obviously not an idiot. I'm one of the top 100 minds on the planet, so keep that in mind you misandrist!"

"Better a misandrist than a blind, vain whore!"

The room fell into chaos. Women began shouting across the room, with a few (unsuccessfully) attempting to defuse the tension and put space between the arguing factions. Once the first slap made contact, things began flying through the air. Hair was pulled, names were called, and anyone not fighting or peacemaking was hiding for her life. Anita pulled Jane down behind a couch. "So," she said, breathless with the adrenaline now pumping in her veins, "having fun yet?"

"Oh tons," Anita replied. "This is what you do on your very first day in Paris."

"ENOUGH!"

The room paused as Anne, with a megaphone of all things, clicked angrily into the room. "WHAT IS WRONG WITH ALL OF YOU," she continued to shout into the megaphone. The woman began to right themselves, letting of each other and retrieving shoes. "YOU ARE HERE TO MEET THE KING. YOU ARE NOT HERE TO RECREATE THE STORMING OF THE PALACE!" the women hiding behind things came out, feeling safe. The girl on tumblr gleefully posted a Vine of the fight. "YOU WILL ALL REPORT TO YOUR ROOMS. DINNER WILL BE SERVED THERE, AND YOU WILL RECEIVE ODERS FOR WHEN YOU WILL APPEAR BEFORE LOKI. DO NOT TALK TO EACH OTHER. DO NOT LOOK AT EACH OTHER. GO DIRECTLY TO YOU CHAMBERS AND REFLECT ON THE FACT THAT YOU ALL ARE THE 100 MOST INTELLIGENT WOMEN IN THE WORLD AND YOU ACTED LIKE A MIDDLE SCHOOL GANG!"

Anne turned and stomped out without another word and the women trickled out of the room. Anita waved goodbye to Jane when the two of them went their separate ways.

* * *

"No, Darcy I haven't seen him yet. I'm going to find out whe—"

A brisk knock hit Jane's door, and she scrambled off the bed. "Wait a second—my dinner is here."

Jane's rooms were huge, and though she hated to admit it, very beautiful. There was a bathroom, sitting room, and window seat, all with a gold and red. The rooms felt as old as they were, but no in a decrepit way; Jane felt transported through time in these rooms. Finding her way to the double doors, she flung them open with her phone balanced on her shoulder. A man dressed in a terribly stiff black suit pushed a cart into the room, with a covered tray and two letters. Jane put the phone on speaker and placed it on an end table.

"Votre dinner, mademoiselle. Voila votre convocation. Mlle de Beolio vous a envoyé une note ainsi Si il y a autre chose que vous désirez, sonner la cloche."

"Um…thanks?" Jane said, completely lost after "mademoiselle". The man nodded and left. "He said, here's your dinner, something something note, something ringing a bell," Darcy buzzed on the other end of the phone. "You still there? Janey?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm still here. I was saying I'll find out when I go when my dinner arrives, and here it is." Jane picked up the envelope marked "SUMMONS". She ripped it open and read the curvy writing. Then she read it again. She put it down, took a sip of the wine on the cart, and then read it again.

"Jane? Jaaaaaaaaaane?" Darcy called from the phone. Jane stared at the creamy paper. "JANE!"

Jane picked the phone up. "'By special request of our King Loki, Ruler of Midgard, you have been chosen to be first to speak with the king.'"

"First?" Darcy's voice squeaked.

"Why would he want to see me? What's so special about me?"

"You mean other than the fact that you cuddled with his sort-of brother who he hated enough to torture instead of kill?" Darcy said, and Jane rolled her eyes, imagining her friend checking her nails as she said it. "Oh, no clue."

"Crap," Jane said, losing her appetite. She poured herself a fll glass of wine and took it to bed with her. "Crap, crap crap."

"Hey, don't worry. Maybe he just wants to talk," Darcy said, not at all reassuring. "Oh, by the way, what are you wearing?"

* * *

**Bonus points to whoever can name the Audrey Hepburn film Anita quoted during the fight. Next chapter should, and I stress the **_**should**_**, be up in less than two weeks. Feel free to send me PM, badgering me to write. I need that.**

**Alright people, reviews please. Anything you've got I will take!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Look at me, not waiting a month to update! I'm awesome. This one's a wee bit shorter. I'm sorry.**

**I was listening to Lana Del Ray's Born to Die and Evanescence's Lacrymosa.**

**Now, on with the show!**

**Disclaimer: All Marvel characters belong to Disney. No money was made by me though this. I wasted time I could have spent on my Philosophy homework on this because philosophy is a big waste of my time. I mean really, if I hear my professor tell me one more time nothing is real, I'm going to stand up, tell him this class isn't real, so I should have an A, and leave. So yeah, I'm not doing the homework.**

* * *

Jane spent most of the morning telling herself not to get ready, and the rest of it getting ready. She stared into her suitcase as she ate breakfast; crepes, fruit and pain au chocolat. She had brought two formal dresses, but she didn't want Loki to think she dressed up for him. She also had the maxi dress Darcy bought her (and she never wore; Darcy must have put it in her suitcase).

There was her black pantsuit. She hated that pantsuit.

And so, after a shower and a cup of coffee, she decided that she was going to wear her black skinny jeans, a silver tank top, and the blazer from her pantsuit. She passed a brush through her hair, put on some mascara, and slipped on some flats before rushing out the door at 11:30. With her map in front of her face like a tourist, Jane navigated the halls back to the ball room she was in yesterday. Inside, nine other women were also waiting. Three of them were whispering conspiratorially in the corner, all wearing low cut, figure hugging dressed and heels. They looked like hookers. They looked up at Jane, smirked, and continued their discussion. Jane felt like she was stuck in high school again.

The other women were spread about the room, reading, writing, listening to music. One woman was in the corner, bent over a bowl in the corner, whispering to herself. She had candles lit around her, and in the bowl was a slip of paper covered in a pile of what looked like cayenne pepper. She knocked on the ground three times, muttering something. She did it again, and then set the paper and pepper on fire with a candle. A sharp, spicy smell filled the air. The woman looked up at Jane, her yellow eyes shocking in her dark face. "Don't ever repeat that unless you have a voodoo priestess with you," the woman said, rising. "Papa Legba doesn't take kindly to pretenders."

"W-What?" Jane asked as the woman covered her bare shoulders with a shawl and wrapped her braids in a green scarf. The woman extended a hand. "I'm Emiliée. And I just hexed our king."

Jane shook her hand and her head. "Sure."

"You'll see," Emiliée said.

Anne came out of the double doors on the opposite side of the room dressed in a white suit and matching louboutins, pausing to sniff the air with a confused expression.

"Jane Foster?" Anne called.

"Yes?" Jane gave a small wave.

"Are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

"Don't be nervous," Anne said, giving a reassuring smile as she ushered Jane forward. Jane rolled her eyes. "That is my last worry," she muttered. The two entered the double doors and walked down a narrow gilded corridor. "Remember, be yourself, try to answer questions fully—is that your phone? You can't have your phone, no cameras." Before Jane could respond, Anne snatched her phone away and dropped it into her jacket pocket. "I'll give it back," Anne assured as Jane opened her mouth to protest. They reached the end of the gilded hallway and Anne knocked on the door with the enormous sun-face knocker. "Jane Foster is here."

"Send her in," a cool, deep voice called from behind it. Anne opened the door and all but shoved Jane inside. Jane stumbled inside and looked around. Jane looked around the room, glad she wore a jacket. The room was a tall circular one with green and blue decoration. Ice sculptures of creatures Jane was pretty sure were not from Earth were placed throughout the room, with seats and cushions surrounding them. Ceiling to floor windows opened up to bright gardens, which did nothing to warm the room, which had to be hovering 20 degrees lower than it should be.

"What a plain creature."

Jane looked at the center of the room. On a throne, because the ornately decorated chair couldn't be described as anything else, dressed in all black and green and gold, sat the man Jane had watched destroy half the planet. The one she watched give peace-speeches while threatening war. The one she watched blast Thor out of the sky on the evening news.

Loki.

Oddly, she couldn't think of what to say. She went mute. A knife like smile cut through his face under his aristocratic nose and pale eyes. "Mute too? Oh dear. What on earth drew Thor's attention to you?"

That loosened her lips. "You're Loki."

"Did something happen to you between the test and your arrival? You seem exceptionally dull witted too."

Jane temper boiled over. "Excuse me?"

"No, excuse me. This is our first proper introduction," Loki swept off the throne and was stand in front of her before she could blink. "I am your king."

Jane said the truest and most idiotic thing she could think of. "I didn't vote for you."

Loki looked puzzled before his face cleared and he laughed. "You are very strange indeed. I assume Anne told you I requested you be first?"

"The expensive looking paper on my dinner tray did."

"Aren't you curious why?"

"Does it have something to do with your brother?" Jane crossed her arms, trying to look defiant, not scared. Loki stiffened. "He's not my brother."

A groan sounded from a corner of the room, and Jane's eyes darted to find the source. Loki signaled with a flick of his wrist to the guards, who dragged out a man from the corner. His face was beaten, burned, and bloody. This arms and legs were bound in heavy chains. His right hand was gone, the arm ending in a stump. His body was thin, though large, and seemed frailer than it should be. He lifted his shaven head and when his sad blue eyes met hers, Jane knew him at once.

"Thor!"

She ran toward him, but Loki caught her easily with one arm. Thor weakly struggled against his chains.

"What have you done to him?!" Jane demanded, still struggling.

"Jane," Thor muttered weakly, fear obvious in his eyes. "What…are you…doing…

"I-" Jane started but stopped at his next word.

"…brother?"

"I am not your brother," Loki hissed. "I never was, you animal; get that through your thick skull. I am taking everything that was yours; this planet, this woman-"

SLAP!

The sound of Jane's hand colliding with Loki's face resounded throughout the room. Everyone but Jane was silent in shock. Jane reeled back and swung to punch him. Loki caught her hand and twisted her arm behind her back, holding her to him. Jane struggled weakly against him and he pulled her arm tighter, making her cry out in pain.

"Leave her be!" Thor roared as best he could, the guards holding him back. Loki ignored him.

"This is my proposal for you, Jane Foster," he whispered. "You…for my brother. His freedom if you become my Queen."

"What about the other 99?" Jane said, not letting him know how horrified she was by his offer.

"Well, one of them just attempted to cast a spell against me, so it's only 98 now," Loki mused. "I doubt many of them will interest me, but the world seems to enjoy the spectacle. No, Jane; either you become my queen and Thor will live, or you can both die together. There are 98 other puppets I can take if you refuse."

Loki let her go and she stumbled away from him, rubbing her arm. Loki's grin was unbearable. "Think about it. Anne!" he called. Anne, who had been watching through a crack in the door, immediately ran in, looking pale. "Escort Miss Foster to her chambers."

"Doctor," Jane couldn't help mutter under her breath as the doors shut. "Dr. Foster."

* * *

Loki returned to his throne, a comfortable smile on his face.

"She will never accept you."

Loki looked down at the fallen son of Odin. "If there is anything I have learned about Midgardians," Loki said, leaning down, "if that they are terribly self-sacrificing…when you have something they love."

Thor spit in his face.

* * *

**Ok, things look really, really rough for Lokane right now but I promise it gets better. Next up; the media is on fire, Darcy wants a full run down, Jane contemplates Loki's offer, and the 99 (so sorry Emilie) have dinner together.**

**This is the part where I beg for reviews. Please?**


	7. Chapter 7

**Look at all the new follows and faves! 39 followers?! Really? There are 39 of you? Thank you guys! It really warms my heart. I'm using this site as a sort of testing ground for my writing; seeing how people react to my writing style(s), my ideas, my plots, so on. Thank you each and all.**

**Sorry for the long wait; my life went psycho **_(oh my gosh, side note, did anyone else here read those books _The Day My Butt Went Psycho _when you were a kid? I just remembered them. That was some trippy crap man…)_**ANYWAY my life went nutty and so this was tough to write and I had so much to do…**

**That doesn't matter. The chappy is here, and it's a bit longer. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. I have nothing but my phone to my name. And what a glorious little android it is.**

* * *

"_It's being called _The Bachelor: Royal Edition_. Hopeless Romantics everywhere are squeeing at the gathering of one hundred women at the Palace of Versaille in to former country of France. But make no mistake – this fairytale does not end well for everyone. Already we are done to 99 woman, as Doctor Emiliée du Champs, a professor from New Orleans and author of the book, _Not Hocus Pocus; The Religion of Voodoo_, was executed for treason last night."_

Jane sat on her bed, still in her pajamas, watching The Today Show on her laptop as Darcy demanded on speaker-phone to know everything. She hadn't slept at all last night; not even the stars could distract her from the events of the previous day. A clip of Anne, with her usual tired air but friendly expression, speaking to the press played. _"The king is truly sorry to have had to end the life of a woman as brilliant as Dr. Du Champs. However, she did attempt to take the king's life, and such a dangerous person cannot be tolerated as we attempt to rebuild the world."_

"Yes Darcy."

"I didn't even ask anything yet!"

"You were going to ask if I knew her, weren't you?"

"…maybe."

Jane paused the video. "Yes, I knew her. Kinda. Actually, I saw her casting the spell."

"She tried to kill him with magic? That's…pretty cool. If you ignore the fact that she was killed for it. Do you know what kind of spell?"

"Oh, yeah, I was taking notes," Jane said drily.

"Cool, text them to me?"

"I didn't take notes on the voodoo hex, Darcy! Could we please focus on my problem now?"

"Oh, now you want to talk about it. You wouldn't even answer the phone yesterday." Jane's silence spoke for her. "Fine, fine. You've been presented with an ultimatum. I say accept."

"You say what?" Jane spit out, picking up her phone off the bed. "I'm sorry, I think I must be tired because I could have sworn you said to accept."

"I did, Janey. Listen, he hates Thor. Killing him is just the pearly topper on an already multilayer frosted cake. You need to buy time. You can't be the only one who hates this; get some of those feminists on your side! One hun- er, ninty-nine of the smartest women in the world and you guys can't put your heads together and kill the king? You have until the next time you see him to give a response, right?"

"Yeah."

"Jane, are you sure you're smart?"

"Yes!"

"Figure out a way to kill him or at least dethrone him. Until then, make like Beyonce and put your freakum dress on. You're going to cozy up to the king."

"How does _accepting_ buy me anytime?"

"Look, he's going to follow through with this whole Bachelor act. The entire planet is watching. People haven't collectively gotten this involved in someone else's love life since Kat Middleton and Prince William. Cozy up to the king, then make trouble. Don't give him reason to suspect you. Play it cray."

"Did you just say 'cray'?" Jane didn't like the sound of "playing it cray". Emiliée du Champs did and lost the game.

"Yeah, I did. All the kids are saying it these days, which reminds me I finish with these papers before the students file in. Quick; what are you doing today?"

"Exploring. Finding a place to set up my telescopes, and then…dinner. Mandatory, fancy-dress-up dinner with all the other 98. Apparently all dinners from now on will be fancy and communal."

"You only packed two dresses, didn't you?"

"I was more interested in packing my instrume-"

"Yeah yeah. I'll order some things online and have them sent to you when I get paid. God forbid you dress yourself."

"You don't have to; I can ask Anne. She told us to wear a different outfit each night and if we need more clothes she would order them for us, free of charge."

"How generous. Oh-dang. The kidies are filing in-gotta run."

"Bye." Jane ended the call, the feeling of loneliness seeping into the room. "The world must have really ended," she murmured as she scrambled out of bed, "if Darcy is making sence."

"_Take our poll online," _Tamron Hall smiled from Jane's computer screen,_ "which of The 100 do you think the king will pick? Coming up: Superheroes, supervillians, superspies, mutants and the like- where are they now? And can they ever be a part of our world again?"_

* * *

"I don't ever wanna driiiiiink again/I just, ooohh, I just need a friend," a woman crooned, sun bathing at the foot of a statue. Jane wandered the gardens for at least an hour, and still had not seen everything; in fact, the other woman was the first person she had seen other than the gardeners during her trek. The statue was the enormous. "I'm not gonna spend tehhhhhn weeks/Have everyone think I'm on the mend," she opened an eye and looked at Jane. "You're blocking my sun," she deadpanned.

"Sorry," Jane muttered, walking away. She hefted the enormous bag carrying her telescope on her shoulder. The thing was getting heavy. She had added to the thing over the years; it was the best telescope not hooked up to a conservatory on the planet. Further along the path, she found an open area, prefect for her telescope. Unfortunately, it was currently occupied by a picnic.

"Jane!" Anita waved to her happily. She had on a bright yellow halter sundress and was sitting with four other women, also wearing dresses. They looked like a southern belle tea party. Jane felt underdressed in her cutoff jeans and t-shirt, but dismissed the thought as silly. They had surrounded themselves with books and a few tablets was well as a lot of food. "Come join us! Did you have lunch yet?"

"No," Jane said, sitting down. "What are you all doing?"

"We found a library," Anita said, obviously giddy. "These books were printed in the in the 17th century. 17th! Some of them were hand written! As in by hand, totally unique, cannot be reproduced!"

"Do you want some pie?" one of the women asked.

"Shouldn't they be in a museum?" Jane asked, declining the pie with a shake of her head. Loki had taken her appetite. All the women turned to look at an Asian woman, gingerly holding on of the handwritten books in her lap. She looked like she had discovered heaven until she looked up and saw their faces. "I promise I'll put them back!" she said in a thick accent. "I—I need them! Just one hour?"

"She took it from under a temperature controlled, moisture controlled glass case," the pie woman said. "Sandwich?"

"No…thank you."

"The case wasn't locked!"

Anita tucked a stray curl behind her ear, not enjoying the growing threat of an argument. "What have you been up to, Jane?"

"Not much, just…wandering. I was looking for a spot to set up my telescope," Jane gestured to her heavy bags, "but nothing really."

"You should try the observatory," an Amazonian-looking woman suggested with a mouthful of pepperoni and cucumber sandwich, "near the part of the palace by the Louvre? It looked pretty impressive."

"There's an observatory? I didn't see it on the maps!"

"You wouldn't," a woman with a few strands of silver hair tucked in with her blonde said, shooting the other woman a look. "That's the King's part of the palace." The Amazon shrugged, reaching a long arm to take another sandwich. "Only he and his staff go in there. Anne even has to bring him his meals."

"Speaking of, what are you all wearing to dinner?" Pie Lady asked. The conversation quickly turned to dresses and jewelry, and Jane gazed at the palace, wondering if that observatory could be a perk to playing nice with the king.

* * *

Thor struggled weakly with chains, only succeeding in reopening the wounds on his wrists.

206 days.

He had been tortured by Loki for 206 days.  
He had watched the last of his friends slaughtered 206 days ago.  
206 days after the last day of his life, he saw the next phase of his suffering.

Loki would have Jane at his side.

And 206 days ago he would have believed Jane would not succumb to his brother. 206 days ago, he would have thought she'd rather die.

But 206 days later his optimism has shriveled to a crisp, and he knew Loki would get what he wanted. Even if Jane was nothing but a hollow shell of a woman standing next to him, Loki would have what he wanted. 206 days ago, Thor would have believed he could save her.

But after 206 days of misery, he didn't bother to hope.

* * *

Anne had a lot to worry about; the state of the planet, the constantly incoming requests for reparations for the war damages, those calls from her mother asking if she was ok (as if the old prune really cared), her little brother's gambling debts (that had been one of the few things to survive the war), the countries petitioning to stay countries, the states petitioning to become countries, the cults petitioning to be recognized religions, the black market on alien technologies (and bodies), someone discovering her secret love for rap music(one of the guards actually heard her rapping _walk a mile in these louboutins/the don't wear these - where I'm from_), and now the 100 (everyone called them that; even though one was now dead and there would be less than 90 in a month). But one worry followed her to bed at night and wouldn't let her sleep. This worry sat on her shoulders and added enough weight to make her consider wearing flats (but she loved her mile high louboutins too much to part with; they made her feel powerful). This worry whispered in the back of her mind every minute of every hour of every day—

This worry was for the king.

No one else saw the way he retreated to his rooms, how he would let that self-confident grin drop and look hollow.

(She caught him crying once. Well, sort of. A tear had escaped his eye and was sparkling in the moonlight.)

No one else had a chance to see the nights when he would destroy rooms just to feel. When he drink the entire contents of the palace's ancient wine cellar just to be numb. No one else knew enough to pity him.

(But Madre de Dios, don't let him know she _pitied_ him. He wouldn't allow pity. He might go slaughter a city or two to _prove_ he didn't need your pity.)

If anyone asked why she worried over him, she'd reply job security. The truth is Anne had a terrible mothering nature- she always cared for her employers, she always made sure they were happy. Loki was not happy.

So here she was; walking to her Versailles office to find what would make him happy. He wanted Jane Foster? Ok, he'd get her. Jane wasn't like the other girls, fauning over the king or pretending to be indifferent. Anne approved of the woman before she even landed in France. Anne turned on her holoscreen and opened the file on Doctor Foster. "Let's see what makes you tick, Ms. Jane," she murmured to herself.

* * *

There were so many languages being at the table it made Jane's head spin. As she watched from the doorway, women traded bronze name plates and gold cushioned seats to sit with friends, spoke (and shouted) across the tables and complimented each other. The entire room was abuzz with content enjoyment. _Maybe they're all starting to get along,_ Jane thought.

One woman stood up and moved to the other end of the table with some of the other trophy wives. The one she was sitting next to before flipped her off.

_Or maybe it's the champagne._

"Jane!" Anita called, somehow spotting Jane awkwardly standing by the door. "'Come quickly, I am tasting the stars!'"

A woman no more than 20 sitting next to Anita burst into tears, blubbering something about metaphors. Anita patted her back sympathetically as she asked someone to switch the nameplate next to hers for Jane's.

"Jane, you look great," Anita complimented. "You should put your hair up more often! It complements the shape of your face.

"Thanks, you look great, too," Jane replied. Her own simple black sleeveless dress seemed boring next to Anita's dark red, which looked like it was an altered 19th century dress, sleeveless and accented with black rhinestones. "Where on earth did you get that dress?"

"Made it. I don't get many chances to dress up, but I have so many ball gowns I've collected and altered over the years. There's this one of dark blue velvet with little rhinestones that look likes stars—OH! Jane, you have to see the stars from the greenhouse! It's no observatory, but it's lovely; like standing in the clouds."

"Where is it?" Jane asked, genuinely interested.

"The…gosh, which wing was it? Crina!" Anita called down the table to another woman. "În cazul în care am ceas pe cer?"

"Aripa de nord, în apropiere de bibliotecă și grădini!" Crina shouted back.

"The north wing, by the gardens. You climb up to the fifth floor, throw open the enormous windows and it's like a dream. Don't ask me how; I've been in much taller buildings with a lesser effect."

"Thanks," Jane said, "I'll check it out tonight."

"So, Dr. Foster," a woman across the table sat down. Dalai, from her nameplate. No, Jaina-she switched plates with a woman seven seats down. "It's time to spill."

"…excuse me?"

"You were the first to see the king," she continued, a smirk on her cobalt-blue painted lips. She had an accent Jane couldn't identify. "Which was a special request, by the way. Everyone else is in alphabetical order, but the last I checked Foster does not come before Aarons. Add to that the fact that you saw the little incident with the Voodoo Queen, and you should be mouthing off like the Chipettes down there," Jaina gestured to the trophy wives with her half empty champagne flute. "But you aren't bragging about your one-on-one or gossiping about Tituba's spell—"

"Emiliée," the woman next to her corrected. "Oh, look! Petit fours!"

"I know her name, I was…never mind, the point is, Dr. Foster, you haven't been a Chatty Cathy, and I'm the Nosy Nancy who wants to know why."

"I'm not sure that's the right—"

"I _know_ Meria!"

Jane stared at Jaina for a moment, glancing at Anita. Anita could sense conflict and began intensely studying the hor d'oeuvres being served. _Thanks for the backup_, Jane thought.

"You seem to know a lot," Jane said slowly, poking a deviled egg with her fork.

"I gather info, it's what I do. Or at least, I used to do. The point is I'm very good at it."

"Then why do you need me to tell you anything?"

"How do you think I get my intel, telepathy?" Jaina gave a big sigh. "Fine. 20 questions then. Is the king…nice?"

Jane snorted. "Nice? No."

"Mean?"

"Are we five?"

"I tried to be a grown up and you wanted to be facetious," Jaina pointed out as the waiter topped off her glass. "The king and conqueror of the world singled you out to say…what?"

Jane long ago learned that the best way to lie was to tell just enough of the truth. "He wanted to show me just how much damage he'd done to Thor."

"Told you!" Meria said, grinning. She turned her phone around to show a grainy photo of Jane standing next to Thor. It look like it was taken back when the Destroyer had plowed through that little New Mexico town she missed so much. "You knew him, didn't you?"

"We were friends. I mean, I found him when he fell from the bridge and let him stay with me, but it was, like, three days," Jane pinched her lips together to stop rambling.

"That was it?" Jaina said dubiously.

"That and this whole crazy pageant we're going through," Jane shrugged. Jaina's eyes narrowed.

"What I'm interested in is the spell," Anita said, trying to dispel the tension. "Everyone is saying voodoo, what did she say?"

"She told me not to try it without a voodoo priest, and something about a guy named Papa Legba."

"Oh totally voodoo," Meria said, putting 5 breadsticks on her plate. Jaina glanced at her plate with mild alarm.

"You think it worked?" Anita asked.

"None of the staff knew until he told them, so at the very least he felt the effects," Jaina said mildly. "Maybe she should have tried a bigger spell."

"Bigger spells need bigger sacrifi-" Meria gave Jaina a weird look. "You...you going to try-"

"Of course not! Voodoo's not my thing, information is. Knowledge is power, girls, and power seems to the currency our new world order calls for."

"Such as," Anita mildly added, "the knowledge of how to cast a powerful voodoo curse."

The conversation slowly moved into a discussion of voodoo and legitimization of magic since Loki took over, and Jane slowly relaxed. Though she didn't want a crown and a seat next to Loki, she knew some of these nuts did.

And she wasn't going to let any of them know she had an advantage.

* * *

**Just so you guys know, I'm 80% sure there is not a giant greenhouse or observatory currently at Versailles. Loki made a few changes (and Anne too. Also, if you are Romanian or speak Romanian, forgive my Google Translate. This chapter was originally slated for a Friday release, but I am going to have a crazy Friday so I made time today to post. I'm thinking of adding previews at the end of chapters for the next one, about a paragraph or two. Tell me what you think.**

_**Coming up:**_** Jane goes star gazing, another attempt is made on the king's life, and Anne tries to play match maker.**

**Give me your thoughts, your concerns, your dreams: give me a review?**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey hey hey! Thanks for reading guys, and don't forget to tell me what you think! So glad so many people are still here for this story. Just so you guys know, I have a basic outline of where I'm going, but each chapter is its own monster. Once I'm done writing, I try to look over it and previous chapters to make sure they have the same flow. And of course, this update took a long time. Again guys, my life has gone bat-crack-crazy with work and school and looking for an apartment and looking for a second job to pay for said apartment and looking for a roommate with a job to help pay for said apartment…basically writing is really important to me but life is crazy. I really want to give you guys who follow my best, and so I take my time. Add that to my life, and updates are once or twice a month. Sorry but thanks for sticking with me.**

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**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Obviously.**

* * *

Anne was old fashioned when it came to her notes. She wrote them by hand, scanned them into her tablet, and then had them uploaded to her holodesk. It would have been easier to type up the notes, but she needed the feel of a MontBlanc Meisterstück fountain pen on the sketch book she took her notes in to make her feel like everything, no matter how hectic, was going to be alright.

"And I need at least 12 more dresses," Felicia de Maurier said, walking beside Anne. Anne had been walking as quickly as she could, turning sharply around corners, and yet the woman pursed and persisted. To her credit, Loki's breakfast tray slowing her down.

"Text me the list, I'll have them ordered."

"I need to try them on," Felicia whined, but stopped when Anne halted abruptly gave Felicia such a glare the woman backpedaled. "B-but I can totally deal with it."

Anne turned and continued her clicking steps down the hallway, scribbling a margin note to order the dresses. Her business phone buzzed on her left hip, and it was the first dress Felicia wanted. She resisted the urge to delete the message as she shove the phone back in her pocket, stopping in front of the doors to Loki's office.

Throne room. He called it a throne room. Anne thought that the enormous chair in the middle of the room didn't change the fact that it was his central place of business and therefore _office_.

Anne adjusted her face to a smile, straightened her blazer, and smoothed back her hair. She looked at the guards. "Has he broken anything today?" she asked them quietly. They shook their heads. "He's been quiet all morning," one whispered back. Anne did not resist the miserable sigh that escaped her. "Alright. Open the doors." She entered with a pleasant expression and a cheery "good morning sir."

Loki was on his throne in the dark. Anne resisted the urge to sigh again; it was going to be one of those days.

"The ten for today are already waiting in the lobby, I have sent you the list of names and general information," Anne continued. She uncovered the tray of food and began testing everything. Loki still hadn't said anything, staring off at a spot on the wall she couldn't see. "Do you want to see Thor before or after meeting them?"

Loki continued to silently stare. The croissant was a bit dry and stuck in Anne's throat; she put them side and picked up the platter bringing it to Loki's throne. He didn't move to take anything. "Please eat something, sire," she said, using the title she only uttered when trying to reason with him. "You didn't eat yesterday either."

"What of it?" Loki mutter quietly, eyes still fixed on the spot no one else could see.

"What would make you happy, sir?"

"Who said I was unhappy?" Loki's eyes finally connected with hers, full of suspicion with just a hint of desperation. Anne did not reply but lifted the tray higher. Loki sighed and took a sliver of cantaloupe. "I need to go back to the artic," Loki said, "I have a palace to finish."

"You're needed here too," Anne said, signaling for a guard to come over and take her place. With her hands free, she walked over to the holodesk and pulled up news feeds from all over the globe. The chattering news anchors and headlines all had one thing in common; they were happy. Or at least amused. "Everyone is talking about this. For the first time since you became king, the world is saying positive things. This is your chance to make them like you, and before you say you don't need them to like you sir, let me remind you that people who bow of their own accord are least likely to try and stab you when they stand."

Loki stared at her for a moment before smirking. "I know you already have a plan, so tell me. What do you think I should do?"

Anne resisted the urge to jump up and down for joy. "You've already decided which of the 100-"

"Must we call them that?" Loki muttered.

"-_will be queen_, right? Jane Foster. So, you continue to meet the others, give the world something to talk about while you win her over."

"Win her over?" Loki dead panned. Anne's pinched her lips tight. "Yes. Win her over. First start with an apology-"

"Apology?!"

Anne was losing patience. "Please, look at it from her point of view. You drag Thor out in front of her and threaten his life in exchange for her compliance. You threaten her friend-"

"Lover."

"Please, it was one long weekend. I'm surprised they remember each other's names. Apologize and ask for a fresh start. Show her you're not mindlessly Jane is an intelligent woman and very headstrong. It's better to win her over than try to beat her into submission because I assure you, she'd rather die."

Loki picked at his breakfast. Anne smiled widely. "You may go, Anne. I will not be visiting Thor today. Bring my lunch before they trot in."

* * *

Jane adjusted her telescope for the hundredth time, grinning like a kid at Christmas.

She had finally found the greenhouse. The entire top floor was an observation deck, and Jane opened one of the windows and set up her telescope. She couldn't wait for the sun to go down, to be with the stars again. It was a little bit of home for her, something that will calm and center her.

The tranquility of the greenhouse was ruined by the loud opening of the greenhouse doors. Jane stood and peeked over the balcony to see a woman walk in and start plucking flowers. "Don't think you're supposed to do that," Jane called down. The woman looked up as she began braiding the blossoms into her bright red curls. "I don't care," she replied honestly, and began wandering around the greenhouse for more flowers. "I'm going to see the king. Not all of us want to look like thrift store rejects."

Jane couldn't help but glance down at her graphic tee and distressed boyfriend jeans. She was _comfortable_. Unlike the ginger sneering at her in a bodycon print dress and mile high shoes.

"Bit of advice; king doesn't like it if you try too hard," Jane called down. A small part of her cringed at the catty words, but the rest of her smiled smugly as the woman's face turned the color of her hair.

"You-!" the woman fumed. "You think you're so special, Foster, just because the king requested you first!"

"How the hel-"

"_Everyone_ knows who you are; we're not stupid. If the king requests to see you first, personally asks to see you, you're obviously a threat. At first we thought you'd be real competition, but look at you!" Her nose wrinkled in disgust. "You're not even trying! Last night, at dinner, everyone was wondering what you would wear. You came in plain black dress; didn't even try with your hair. Do you _own_ make up? And your mannerisms, and your…" She sighed, plucking another flower. "You're up there doing whatever it is you are doing while the rest of us try to be our best. The king would be a fool to pick you."

Jane laughed. "Good. The sooner I can go home the better."

Seeing she wasn't going to win, the ginger grabbed a few more flowers and stomped out. Jane spent a few more minutes with her telescope before she sighed, realizing she couldn't wait there all day. "Tonight," she said, petting her telescope. "Oh my god, I'm talking to my telescope. I've lost it. Now I'm talking to myself," she muttered to herself.

* * *

Jane was definitely not bored-eating when Anita frantically knocked on her door. That is why she shoved the boxes of chocolate under her bed before opening the door. "Jane," she said, eyes wide. "He was so nice."

"Nice?" Jane almost spat. Anita came in and descended upon the divan. "He was nice, Jane. Why didn't you tell me he was nice?"

"Are you sure you met Loki?" Jane said, sitting next to her. Anita nodded. "He was polite and considerate. He asked me to sit and we talked about literature and my favorite novels. We talked about Shakespeare until Anne came with the next woman."

Jane stared at Anita for a long moment. "_Nice?_"

"He agreed with me that Romeo and Juliet is not the tragic story of a couple in love but how a stupid boy convinced a stupid girl to sleep with him and then he caused both their deaths by his irrational and cowardly reaction to seeing her tomb, not to mention how the only true victim is Paris. I've been arguing this with my colleagues for ages, not to mention my 9th grade teacher, Mrs. Davenport. I hated her." A strange look came over her face. "He also asked how you were doing."

"He did? Of course he did."

"I said you were fine, but not really making friends. You spend a lot of time alone; are you ok?"

"I was until you said he was _nice_." Jane ran a hand through her hair. "This must be a trap. That's it. He's toying with me."

"You sure you're ok?"

"How did he know you knew me?" Jane asked, standing to pace. "Did you tell him?"

"No, but we arrived at the same time. Maybe-"

"Is he watching us?" Jane scanned her room for cameras. Of course, there was the fact that he was light years ahead of them in science ("magic"; total bull). "He's watching us, isn't he? Or he's getting Anne to do it. I gotta get out of here."

"Jane-"

"I could-I could get a cab, and-"

"JANE YOU ARE HAVING A PANIC ATTACK." Anita shook Jane by her shoulders and forced her to sit on the bed. "There is nothing to worry about and there is nowhere to go. We are here. We are safe. We are stuck. You need to calm down and accept that not everything is under your control and _that is ok_." She gave her one more shake before letting go and dialing room service. "Bon après-midi. Je besoin d'un pot de thé. Non, deux- Earl Grey et camomille. Merci beaucoup." She put down the phone and crouched in front of Jane, looking her in the eyes. "Jane, what's wrong?"

Jane didn't answer, and Anita sighed. "We've been masquerading as friends since we arrived, but friends tell each other their problems. Friends share. I'm your friend. Are you mine?"

Jane considered the woman in front of her for a moment. "Loki wants me to be his queen," she whispered. Anita's brow furrowed. "And?"

"And if I don't agree he's going to kill Thor." Jane took a deep breath and ran her hands through her hair.

"There. Was that so hard." Anita sat on the floor, crossing her legs. "I don't think he's watching you. Anne probably told him we were friends, and he wants to make you like him."

"By threating my-by threatening Thor?" Jane said. Anita shrugged. "Maybe he doesn't know another way. He's from a whole other galaxy Jane, give him a break."

Nervous laughter caught in Jane's throat and bubbled to the surface, making Anita laugh too. "See? It's going to be ok! We'll figure this out!" Anita said, eyes wandering under the bed. She frowned. "Is all this stress why there are a dozen chocolate boxes under the bed?" she asked as she rose to answer the door for room service.

"Those aren't what they seem…" Jane dug the boxes out and threw the empty ones away.

"Suuuure," Anita grinned, suddenly reminding Jane of Darcy.

"You know what? Let's try to call a friend of mine," Jane said, dialing Darcy's number. She did say make friends…

* * *

"Look look look!" Anita said, pointing at something as she looked through telescope.

"You know I can't see anything right?" Jane laughed, giving Anita's shoulder a gentle push. Anita moved out of the way. "It was a falling star."

"Did you make a wish?" Jane asked, blindly writing down observations in a notebook with her eye trained on the stars.

"Yes. But I can't tell." Anita plopped down into a seat and munched from the bowl of pretzels and M&amp;M she brought with her. "So you think we'll get in trouble for skipping dinner?"

"You were one of the kids who never missed a day of school, weren't you?"

"And took summer classes and went to Accelerated Reader book camp," Anita chuckled. "What, you didn't?"

"Around middle school I felt like I could learn more going to work with my dad than going to school," Jane replied, adjusting the lenses. "But that all stopped when my mom found out. I was still a straight A student."

"Oh, the first time I got an E I cried. I was more upset than my parents!" Anita cackled.

The doors to the greenhouse opened and Jane decided that if she didn't look down, whoever it was would go away.

"You do know that the word 'mandatory' applies to you too?"

She was wrong.

"Anne! Hi!" Jane said turning around. Anita gave a small wave down to the annoyed looking woman. "The king needs to see you, Ms. Foster-"

"Doctor," Jane muttered.

"-and while I could have extended the invitation of a private dinner to you _if you had been in your room,_ you will have to come and get it."

Anne waved a golden envelope in the air. Jane and Anita (with her bowl of M&amp;Ms and pretzels) climbed down. Jane opened the envelope and read the brief invitation.

"9 o'clock? That was half an hour ago," Jane said. Anne sighed. "Yes. I suggest you go right away."

"But she isn't dressed!" Anita protested. "C'mon Jane, I'll find you something to wear."

"I don-"

"You own more than one dress, right?"

* * *

With her hair curled, her makeup done, and wearing a plum strapless dress Anita had convinced a friend to lend her, Jane felt like a plucked chicken standing 2 hours late outside Loki's doors.

"No need to be nervous," Anne said.

"I'm not."

"Just… try a fresh start, ok? Go in there without any prejudices."

Jane gave Anne a look that was a statement itself. Anne stood firm. "Just try!" she hissed, and nodded to the guards to open the doors.

The throne room was not how Jane remembered. When she had first visited it was cold and forbidding; this room was warm. There were fires built in the fireplaces on both ends of the room, filling the room with a warm golden light. In the middle of the room, in front of the ridiculous throne, was a table small table laid with food that had gone cold long ago.

"If you're still hungry, I'm sure something there is edible," a voice said behind her. Jane spun as Anne closed the doors and left, leaving her with Loki. He looked different. The helmet he wore (that ridiculous horned thing) was gone, along with his armor. He wore a black suit with a deep green shirt and gold accents.

"I'm fine." Jane said, and then, as an afterthought, "Thanks."

"You're welcome. Come, sit."

He offered her his arm, but Jane still had her pride to coddle, and she walked to the table by herself. Loki sat across from her. "Anne brought something to my attention," Loki started. Jane stared out the enormous windows to the stars she was missing. "I may have been a bit harsh."

"May?"

"My offer still stands, Jane, but I need a partner, not a slave. Anne could serve that purpose," he added with disdain. (Jane might have imagined it, but she was sure she heard a "hurmph" outside the door.) Jane poured herself a glass of wine. "What are you saying," she asked indifferently as she took a sip.

"I'm sorry."

Jane almost choked on the wine as she sucked in a breath and then began to cough violently. When the fit was over she rasped out. "You're what now?"

"I'm sorry."

"For what?" Jane looked him in the eye, searching for sincerity. "That you destroyed most of the world to rule over it? The millions of people are dead? That you used your brother to get to me, and me to get to him?"

"He's not my brother," Loki said automatically. "And yes. I am sorry for using you. I'm hoping to have a fresh start."

Jane stared blankly at him for a moment before bursting into laughter. "This…this is all Anne isn't it? You don't really care. I bet she told you to be nice to Anita too, because she's my only friend here? Let me enlighten you, oh king; you don't need to win me over. You have 98 other intelligent, beautiful women willing to throw themselves at your feet."

"I don't want them."

"And why do you want me, Loki?"

Loki's jaw clenched tight, and he looked away. Jane stood. "Thanks for the drink. Call me when you have an answer to my question."

* * *

**Ah, it has started. Just remember, Loki, it's the queen that rules the chessboard. **

**Coming up, Loki joins the dinner party, and for all the preening the peacocks do he only has eyes for Jane, Jane continues to gather followers from the 100 as Loki sends gifts, and Anita decodes hidden messages as Jane decides denial is the surest course of action. **

"_He sent you flowers?" Anita stared at the enormous bouquet. Jane looked at the carrier of the vase. "Look, this has to be a mistake-"_

"_You are Miss Jane Foster, n'est pas?"_

"_Doctor," she corrected automatically. "__Yes, but—"_

"_Then there is no mistake." The man shifted the weight of the handkerchief vase carefully in his arms. "Where can I put ze flowers?"_

"_Uh-on the table." Jane pointed to the small coffee table, which was just large enough for the vase. Anita was excited. "These are purple hyacinth. And snowdrop, iris, japonica…"_

"_Yes, it's a beautiful arrangement. I should probably thank Anne for setting it up," Jane rolled her eyes. Anita shook her head, searching though the flowers delicately. "Jane, I don't think Anne arranged these. Or, maybe she did, but she's probably not the one who sent this message, or if she did then what did she do and I think she's in love with y—"_

"_Wait, what message?" Jane came to the coffee table, looking for a note. Anita pointed to the blossoms. "Iris-hope, or promise of love. Snowdrop, also hope. Purple hyacinth, please forgive me. Japonica, sincerity. And look, this jonquil in the middle." She lifted the blossom out and showed it to Jane. Jane gave her a "so what" look. Anita rolled her eyes. "Love me! Jonquil means love me! Gosh, did you ever study anything other than the stars?"_

"_Of course I did-" _

"_This is an _apology_, Jane, with a hope for love."_

"**Let us be grateful to the mirror for revealing to us our appearance…only." Samuel Butler. Be my mirror: give me a review?**


	9. Chapter 9

**New follows, new favorites; thank you guys. I know my writing isn't the best (grammatical errors. That's all I'll say about that.) and that I take two thousand years to update, but you krazy kids stick with me! Thank you, love you!**

**This one took a particularly long time because I had writer's block. I knew what I wanted to write but it wasn't coming out right and when it did it was slow. Thanks for the continued support ****. Also, the plan was for this to be longer, but you guys have waited so long and felt like it needed to be put up. **

**Disclaimer: Not mine, obviously. I own nothing. Pfft.**

* * *

"_We are well into the second week now, and any day the first of the 100 will be sent home. People from all over the world have speculated who the king will send away. With factors ranging beauty to accomplishments, our online poll shows that anyone, and I mean anyone, could go home."_

"Somehow, doubt I'm on the shortlist for émigrés," Jane said, aggressively poking pause on the livestream. Anita didn't respond, still putting eye shadow pallets up to Jane's face. "Could you stop that?"

Anita frowned, but put the pallets down, moving to the wardrobe.

"You don't need to dress me every time we have dinner," Jane grumbled as Anita rifled through her closet. Anita had come over with her own cosmetics bags and eveningwear, insisting Jane needed the help. "And it's 2! Dinner isn't until 8!

"If I hadn't come over, what would you have worn?"

"The black dress."

"You wear black to all the dinners."

"Fitting, huh?" Jane said, flopping on the bed. She unzipped the garment bag with Anita's dress and pulled out a short, full skirt, strapless moss green dress with a black cropped blazer. There were small gears on the back as buttons. "Did you make this one, too?"

"Bought it at a steampunk convention. It came with stripped stockings, but I'm not going to wear them; it'd be a bit tacky for dinner. Ah, here's something."

Jane glanced over to see. It was a gold shift dress with long sleeves. "No."

"C'mon. And I'll pin your hair up; I have some pearly pins and a curling iron," Anita pulled out a pair of black pumps Anne had ordered for Jane. "These will do."

A knock sounded on the door and Jane rose to answer it. "You didn't order room service, did you?" she called to Anita.

"Before dinner? No." she replied from the back of the closet. Jane opened the door to a face full of flowers.

"Uhh…"Jane backed up. "How about flowers?"

"What?" Anita scrambled out of the walk in and ran over to her.

"From the king," the man holding the bouquet said, stepping into the room. "For Miss Jane Foster."

"He sent you flowers?" Anita stared at the enormous bouquet. Jane looked at the carrier of the vase. "Look, this has to be a mistake-"

"You are Miss Jane Foster, n'est pas?"

"Yes, but—"

"Then there is no mistake." The man shifted the weight of the handkerchief vase carefully in his arms. "Where can I put the flowers?"

"Uh-on the table." Jane pointed to the small coffee table, which was just large enough for the vase. Anita was excited. "These are purple hyacinth. And snowdrop, iris, japonica…"

"Yes, it's a beautiful arrangement. I should probably thank Anne for setting it up," Jane rolled her eyes. Anita shook her head, searching though the flowers delicately. "Jane, I don't think Anne arranged these. Or, maybe she did, but she's probably not the one who sent this message, or if she did then what did she do and I think she's in love with y—"

"Wait, what message?" Jane came to the coffee table, looking for a note. Anita pointed to the blossoms. "Iris-hope, or promise of love. Snowdrop, also hope. Purple hyacinth, please forgive me. Japonica, sincerity. And look, this jonquil in the middle." She lifted the blossoms out and showed them to Jane. Jane gave her a "so what" look. Anita rolled her eyes. "Love me! Jonquil means love me! Gosh, did you ever study anything other than the stars?" She dropped the cluster of jonquil back into the middle of the bouquet.

"Of course I did-"

"This is an _apology_, Jane, with a hope for love."

Jane stared at the flowers silently her face blank.

"You ok?" Anita asked.

"Just a moment." Jane turned on her heel, and rifled through her vanity drawer in the bathroom. She returned with a matchbook and some rubbing alcohol, which she poured onto the bouquet.

"No. Jane no-"

Jane struck a match and dropped it in on the flowers. They burst into white and purple flames.

"What the HELL Jane?" Anita screeched.

"You and the rest of the world may be willing to forget," Jane said in a dangerous tone. "But this man invaded our world, destroyed cities, killed hundreds of thousands of people, physically and emotionally scarred more, destroyed governments, adjusted borders and fundamental rights to _his_ liking, demanded we bow to him, dragged us from our homes to parade in front of him to pick and choose, and now, _now_ he has the freaking gall to send me flowers? FLOWERS?! Like flowers are going to fix everything that he's done, everything that he is? Well guess what? I don't want them." Jane opened the window and threw the flaming bouquet out, ignoring the shouts of the gardeners below. "He send his flowers to the other women here who want him!"

Anita stood there staring at Jane in a quiet rage. "Is that what you think of us?" she asked calmly. The calm was more unnerving than if she shouted. "That we're all willing pawns in this game?"

"Well, you're not exactly picketing are you?" Jane retorted, unwilling to admit defeat.

"We've all lost someone or something Jane, get that through your thick skull; you're not the only person suffering! While it makes you feel better to stomp around and scream and blame people then good for you, but I need order, I need security, I need peace! _This is the way things are now_," Anita made a sweeping gesture around the room. "So we can all cry about it or try to make the best of it, and I can't live in fear and pain anymore." Anita angrily swiped away her tears and took in a shuddering breath. "I'm not a coward. I'm not a pawn, I'm not a pushover. I'm just a person trying to make the best out of the crappy situation she was handed."

"I'm sorry, ok, I didn't mean-"

"We're friends, remember? Don't lie to me," Anita shot back angrily. She paced a few steps and then fell onto the couch. "Just…give me a minute."

Jane slowly sat down at the divan across from her. After a few minutes she broke the silence, "Who would have guessed you had that in you? Miss Let's-All-Avoid-Conflict?"

Anita gave a chocked laugh. "See why I need order? You can't escape conflict when it's around you. In the air. On your skin. It seeps into you like osmosis, grows like a cancer. I can't stand conflict; I try to be happy. Because the moment I'm not…" Anita absentmindedly rubbed her wrists. Jane to continue apologizing, but Anita gave a bright, if plastic, smile and stood up. "Well. Enough about me. You just sent the king a flaming message."

"Yeah."

"It really was a lovely and thoughtful bouquet."

"I'll let you keep the next set," Jane's eyes glanced out the window to the setting sun. "In fact, I'll forward all gifts to you."

"Make sure to drop a few hints that you love books, then," Anita laughed, and Jane knew that the tension between them had passed. "Alright, we don't want to be late."

"_You_ don't want to be late."

"Hush. Get up and shower. I'll get dressed and then help you."

"I don't need hel-"

"Shower!"

* * *

"Wait 'til you're announced/We've not yet lost all our graces," Fredrika sang as she, Anita, Jane, The Amazon (Lupita) and the Pie Lady (Adrianna) walked down the hall together, arms linked. Jane had on gold eye shadow and her hair was pinned up with a few strategically stray curls. Despite her desire to remain sullen, Jane couldn't help but smile at the happiness the other women were determined to exude. Anita insisted that, since Jane only had her as a friend, they walk to dinner with some of her friends.

"The hounds will stay in chaaIaaaIaains/Look upon Your Greatness and she'll send the call out," Fredika called and then looked expectantly at the guards, who tried not to laugh as they opened the doors. The usual chatter and trading of nameplates had already commenced, but all eyes watched Jane as she moved through the room. Some glances were proud, others admiring, and others pure scorn. Apparently the news of her flaming flowers spread fast. Jane's group all found and moved their name plates, but when Jane found hers, it wouldn't move.

"Jane? You coming?" Adrianna asked from the other end of the table.

"My name plate is superglued to the table!" Jane called back.

"Ok…we'll come down there." The group negotiated their way down the table as Jane pulled, pried, and eventually took a steak knife to her nameplate. No avail.

"Why is your nameplate stuck there?" Anita asked. Jane gave up and plopped into her chair. "Why am I here? Why I am in this dress? I feel like control of my life is slowly slipping away."

"Same!" a woman across the table raised her glass to Jane. Several followed suit, including Jaina and her shadow Meria.

"You're being dramatic," Anita said, going to sit at the head of the table.

"DON'T sit down," Anne called, quickly walking into the room and running a lint roller over the seat cushion. Anita scuttled to the side. "Sorry. Are you eating with us, Anne?"

"Me? No. The King? Yes." Anne snapped her fingers and servants appeared out of nowhere to set the table with food. A special dome covered platter was placed at Loki's seat and Anne tested the food and drink as everyone at the table burst into conversation. Everyone but Jane. Anita stood awkwardly next to Jane, fiddling with the sleeve of her jacket, and once Anne had finally tasted everything, Loki walked in.

Jane could feel his presence before she actually saw him; he exuded power consciously, and every waggling tongue at the table fell silent as they watched him walk across the room to his seat. He was wearing a suit again, with an emerald green shirt and gold cravat. He held Jane's gaze as he strode to his seat and sat down. "Good evening," he murmured. Jane felt like the greeting was meant for her, but several women replied for her, breaking her stupor. She looked around for support, and found Anita staring at her shoes. "Here, take my seat, Anita," Jane quickly stood and gave the seat to Anita, who adamantly shook her head as Jane pushed her in the seat at Loki's right hand.

"No need for that," Anne said, pulling Anita up from the chair. She snapped her fingers again. Either the people who worked here were telepathic or Anna had trained them in the art of understanding snaps, because the only empty chair left was promptly removed and squeezed next to Jane's chair, forcing everyone and the right side of the table to shift their chairs. As Anita gratefully sat in her seat and tried to look small and unnoticeable, Anne all but shoved Jane into her seat. Jane glanced down the table and noticed that for the first time the feminists and the trophy wives were slowly, quietly trading seats so the trophy wives could get closer to Loki and feminists could gather to pointedly ignore him at the other end of the table. She glanced back to at Loki, shocked to meet his eyes.

"You look lovely this evening," he complemented her, before taking a sip of champagne.

"You look human," Jane returned. "Very deceptive costume."

A few people in the room tried to stifle their laugh as Jaina beat Meria's back to stop her choking. Anne rolled her eyes. Jane turned to Anita, who was very interested in her meal and nothing else. "Anita, what were you saying earlier?"

"What?" Anita asked, looking at her with pure panic in her eyes. Jane felt a twinge of guilt but continued. "Your favorite book, you know, how you have a hard time picking?"

Anita was silent a moment before she caught on to Jane's need for a distraction. "Ohhh. Yeah. My…my favorite book. I've always loved the Secret Garden. I mean, the book is a bit racist in my opinion because of thee very colonial view on India but once you look past that there is this beautiful story of the land and cultivating life healing the hollow, unloved part of these children and teaching them to be human. But at the same time Jane Eyre is my one of favorite books ever; I know it sounds cliché but I really do love it, and not because of this great love story happening because let's be honest Rochester is a jerk but watching Jane Eyre come into her own and become a self-confident woman is wonderful and very unusual for the time period." Anita took a deep breath and stared down at her plate. "And then there are the works of Shakespeare, which aren't really books, they're plays in the form of books, but still I love them all. I love the tragedies more than the comedies. Except Romeo and Juliet…what about you, Jane?" Anita promptly dug into her salad, showing that she would not talk anymore.

"I don't really have a favorite," Jane admitted. "I haven't read much fiction since I was a kid."

"And why is that?" Loki asked, seeing his opportunity.

"My parents used to read to me. And then I grew up." Jane said shortly.

"Do you read, my king?" One of the trophy wives called out. "I mean, of course you _can _read, but do you read recreationally?"

"Yes," Loki didn't look up at her, but kept his eyes on Jane, who was doing anything _but_ returning his gaze. "I have been reading the Norse myths about Asgard. What strange memories your people have; very little of it was true."

"Maybe if Asgardians didn't pop up and pretend to be gods, stories would be more accurate," Jane retorted with a sip of champagne.

"Are any of the ones about _you _true?" Lupita asked, no long interested in her meal. Jane glanced down the table. With the exception of the feminists, who were doing everything in their power to not look interested, everyone was looking at Loki as expectant as children waiting for a bedtime story.

"I did have a wife. Her name was Sigyn," Loki said slowly. "She's dead."

General sounds of remorse and condolences were offered up before he continued. "Your _wonderful_ myths tell a story where I was chained to rocks with the innards of our child as a serpent dripped venom onto me. We had no children. I was bound my magic. Sigyn was told to stay away or face my punishment alongside me, but she stayed. She held an enormous basin over our heads to catch the venom. She never faltered, even when her arms shook, and when she needed to empty it, she placed her body over mine to shield me and took the venom herself. Not even Odin had the heart punish her after the pain she endured." Not even the feminists were ignoring him now. Not a single person was eating, only listening.

"She must have loved you very much," Anita said quietly. A few people nodded.

"Not at first," Loki's answer was a bit delayed, as was his self-depreciating chuckle. He looked at Jane, and for the first time she couldn't find that arrogance. She tried, oh she searched for it, but he was strangely…open. Soft. In the memory of pain. And that frightened her more. "You see Jane," he said, "She is the answer to your question. Sigyn was…stubborn. She was headstrong and intelligent. She was one of the best sorceresses in the realms, and you'd never hear her boast of it. She was steadfast and loyal. And I did not give her the attention she deserved."

"So you're looking for a replacement?" someone asked. Jane didn't know who; she pushed back her chair and stood.

"Miss Foster—" Anne started, but Jane waved her off, leaning close to Loki so that only he could hear her. "I'm not Sigyn, and unlike her, I won't stick around to play your games. Find another pawn."

"Every word I've said it true," Loki said mildly.

"Oh, I bet," Jane sneered. She turned on her heel and walked away, albeit slowly since the death traps Anita called shoes slowed her down.

"How did she die?" another woman asked Loki, and the attention turned from Jane's retreating figure to Loki once more.

"When I fell from the Bifrost, she thought me dead. They said she died of grief. Thor says she killed herself. I'd rather believe the former report."

Jane faltered a moment, and then pulled the doors open dramatically and left. She tripped on one of her heels as she tried to move faster.

"Are you alright?" One of the guards asked.

"I'm fine," Jane said, taking the shoes off and continuing. "Thanks for asking though."

"Jane," Jaina called after her as she stomped down the hall. "Slow down, will you?"

"What?" Jane said, turning around and walking backwards. "I'm making a dramatic exit and retreating to my room to call my friend and drink some more."

"Look, you know where the library is?"

"Do I- sure. Sure I know where the library is."

"Meet me there after midnight."

Jane sincerely wished she had grabbed the bottle of champagne on her way out. "Why? Why, why, why?"

"I promise if you show up half sober you won't regret it."

"And if I show up drunk?" Jane said, walking away.

"You'll regret the hangover in the morning!" Jaina called to her with a laugh.

* * *

Jane lay on her divan in a giant t-shirt with her phone on her leg, scotch on the coffee table, and half a pint of cookie dough ice cream in her hand.

"You need to go. It's past midnight. Are you dressed?" Darcy's voice called from her phone. Jane didn't answer and took another bite of ice cream. "Jaaaaaaane. C'mon."

"I don't want to believe him Darcy."

"Of course not. Now put on some pants."

"The way he talked about her…" Jane took another bite, "she meant something to him. And for some reason he thinks I'll replace her." Jane stood up and found a pair of shorts.

"I don't see the problem," Darcy chirped.

"It means he's not going to get over it, even if he goes through and kills Thor. He's doing this to replace his dead wife, and for _some reason_ I'm the one he zoned in on."

"Are you putting your pants on?"

"They're on—are you listening to me?"

"So he's more likely to actually fall in love with you. Jane, the only risk here is if you go all Beauty and the Beast on us."

"What?"

"Go to the library, figure out if this Jaina is on Team Kill-the-King—"

"Not calling it that."

"—and don't fall for the enemy."

"Not a chance." Jane hung up the phone without ceremony, grabbed the bottle of scotch and left her room. Peeking around the corners, she made sure no one else was out and about before walking out into the hallway. Now that she allowed herself to see it, Versailles was very beautiful. The lights were off because of curfew, but soft moonlight filtered in from the windows along the hall. The ordinate ceilings were a wonder and captured Jane's attention as she made her way down the halls. Chandeliers sparkled in the light, the pale curtains seemed to glow. It was magical.

"Once upon another time/Somebody's hands who felt like mine/ Turned the key and took a drive/Was Free," someone sang in the halls.

Jane turned around, but didn't see anyone. "Hello?" A giggle sounded in the dark. "This is not funny," Jane said, unnerved.

"Boo!" someone shouted as they grabbed her shoulders. Jane screamed as turned, and Fredrika burst into laughter.

"That's not funny!" Jane said.

"Aw, lighten up!" Fredrika replied, "it's the middle of the night and you're on the way to super-secret meeting. I had to make it a little spoooooky." Fredrika sniff the air, and glanced at the bottle in Jane's hand. "You're drunk. Good. If this goes south, you won't remember a thing."

"Wait, it's a meeting?" Jane said, putting the bottle down on a hall table.

"Don't worry about how you look; everyone is probably in their pjs and still drunk from dinner." Fredika flicked her pink bangs out her eyes. "Come on, Jane. Pick up your drink and come with me."

"I'm going to regret this," was Jane's only comment as they continued down the hall in silence.

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**Alright alright alright! Comment, question, review!**

**Coming up, a meeting, a plan, another present, and Thor gets a visitor. Oh, and for those who want more Loki, he's coming up too.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: To my followers- I am SOOOO SORRY. There is no excuse for how long it took me to update. I had a case of writer's block with a dose of reality, and then I've been going through some personal issues. But yeah. No excuse. Please forgive me.**

**Disclaimer**** Pink fluffy unicorns, dancing on rainbows!** **Pink fluffy unicorns, dancing on rainbows!** **Pink fluffy unicorns, dancing on rainbows!** **Pink fluffy unicorns, dancing on rainbows!...still here? I don't own anything. Not even that song I just got stuck in your head.**

* * *

Loki was not sulking.

Anne had muttered he was, thinking he couldn't hear, but he was _not_ sulking. The King of Midgard, Conqueror of Earth's Nations, Destroyer of the Avengers, and the Newest and Most Benevolent Ruler in the Nine Realms _did not sulk_.

But he did sit in darkness and solitude and consider the fact that he may be cursed to roam the universe without a companion. He did sit alone a think about the woman he had but did not want, and the woman he now wanted but did not have. _Yet,_ he reminded himself, he did not have her yet. Sigyn and Jane, as similar as they were, were also vastly different. Loki didn't have to try nearly as hard to win Sigyn's heart; she had offered it to him on a platter once she decided she didn't hate him after all. She had seen the soft side of him that he hid for fear of ridicule, and after that everything was so easy with Sigyn. Her undying loyalty was a trait she shared with his mothe—with Frigga. They were bosom friends, Sigyn and Frigga, always caring for Loki because no one else would. Seeing him when he was invisible. Hearing him when others deemed him mute.

Loki groaned and stood to pour himself a drink. It would do him no good to think of them; a mother out of reach and a wife dead. Jane refused to see him for anything but the monster he was, the monster he managed to convince himself on good days he wasn't. The monster parents tell their children about a night, the monster parents didn't look in the eye for fear of what would happen to their children.

There was a knock on his doors. Loki straightened his back and adjusted his face from a self depreciating scowl to an arrogant smirk. "Enter."

Four guards dragged Thor into the room. He didn't even bother to get up when they dropped him on the floor. Loki rolled his eyes. "Thor, enough of the theatrics. Anne will burst another blood vessel if you ruin these floors."

When Loki first broke Thor, he relished it. He enjoyed visiting everyday and seeing him without hope. He relished in the fact that Odin would not come to the rescue of his golden child simply because he did not want open war again. Then Thor became boring.

"Really, now, sit up. I have questions for you."

Thor's bloodshot left eye rolled up to look at Loki. "Why?" he rasped.

"Anne just had the floors waxed."

"Why do you have questions?"

Loki sighed. "You really are quite dull." He emptied the wine bottle into his glass. "A mutual acquaintance of ours." Loki pretended not to notice Thor's body stiffen.

"Jane." Thor rasped.

"Yes, Jane," Loki said slowly, as if to a child. Thor, slowly and painfully, sat up, kneeling on the floor. "What about Jane?"

"You were here for three days, two nights, and yet you managed to make her love you. How?"

Thor stared blankly at Loki for so long, the King of Midgard wondered if there was anyone home in his once-brother's head. Then a low, choking sort of sound bubbled out of him. A laugh. Thor was _laughing _at him.

"I should have had more faith in her. How much trouble is she giving you, _brother_?" Thor spat the title like a poison, a broken grin laying lazily on his face.

"No trouble at all."

"Then you should brace yourself. Jane is more stubborn than you know."

* * *

Jane and Fredrika walked quietly into the library. The celing to floor bookshelves surrounded the ordinate siting area, where several women were sitting, still in their dinner clothes.

"You made it!" Jaina said proudly. Most of the other women she didn't know, with the exception of Meria, Crina, and the hacker girl she met the first day.

"What is this?" Jane asked, taking a seat.

"A counsel? We are discussing how to kill the world's biggest problem."

"Loki already smashed our dependency of fossil fuels."

"Haha. She's funnier drunk," one of the other women, who had her head shaved and enormous brown eyes, said. Jaina rolled her eyes. "The king, Jane. Try to focus."

"You really think you can kill the king?"

"If the smartest women in the world gathered in one place isn't enough to off him, I think we should accept the fact that we might deserve our place under his heel," another interjected.

"Who are you?" Jane asked. "Really- did you all meet here and decide to play spies or is there someone else pulling the strings?"

"Why?"

"You can't just decide to kill the guy who brought the entire modern world to its knees," Jane insisted. "You'll just get yourself killed."

"I think we have a chance—"

"Alright, alright," Jaina interrupted. "Introductions first. You already know Meria"— Meria smiled and waved at Jane—"and Fredrika"— Fredrick had taken Jane's bottle of scotch and was pouring drinks—"this is Cierra"—the dark skinned bald woman—"Petra, Crina, Dalia, and Lottie"—the hacker girl—"and yeah, we met here."

"Fiecare dintre noi a văzut șansa noastră de a face ceva despre statutul nostru ca o planetă ocupată , și a început să vorbesc cu fiecare alte despre asta," Crina said. "We each saw our chance to do something about our status as an occupied planet, and started talking to each other about it," Meria translated.

"We asked you here because we think you can help us," Jaina said. Jane gave her a sardonic look.

"It's obvious that Loki has zeroed in on you. We need you to get close to him."

"You want me to kill him?" Jane asked dubiously.

"No, no, get close!" Dalia corrected. "Close enough to tell us, say, the guards' schedule. He has a pair of Chitauri guards, but given that they shape shift, we don't know which of the guards are human and which aren't. You find that out. Does he go for midnight strolls alone? We need to know. Does he sleep by an accessible window?"

"How am I supposed to know where he sleeps?" Jane scoffed, then looked up in alarm when her question was met with silence. "_No._ You hear me? N-O."

"Ok, maybe you don't have to get that close," Jaina assented, "but we need intel. You can be our spy."

"Then we go in all assassin-style," Lottie said, grinning, "smokebomb, hidden blade to the throat, and blen—"

"Enough with the video game references," Cierra said.

"Killjoy."

"So what do you say, Foster?" Jaina asked. Everyone stared at Jane. She sighed. "I'm going to regret this. But yeah. I'll see if I can get what you need to know."

* * *

**A/N: I plan to get next chapter up within the week. If I don't, feel free to spam my PM with reminders. Coming up, Loki decides that Anne is controlling her OTP too much and takes matters into his own hands as Jane starts to formulate her own plan around what everyone wants from her.**

"_**50, count them, 50 of the 100 have been sent home today. The remaining 49 will now be seeing the king for the second time, and if he doesn't like them by the end of that meeting, they will be sent home too. All eyes are on Paris to see who our Queen will be. It has been no surprise that Doctor Jane Foster has become a fan favorite. Last week, information recovered from the files of disbanded organization S.H.I.E.L.D. showed that Dr. Foster was acquainted with Asgardians before the rest of the world even knew about them, and had met Thor while studying the very phenomenon that allowed him and others to travel here. Unconfirmed reports state that the King has taken special interest in the astrophysicist.**_

"_**Up Next: The 50 tell all; Felicia de Maurier tells us what her experience was like in Versailles with the 100."**_


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: There is literally no excuse for how late this is. Sorry. Love you guys though. No promises for when I'll update because my life is total mess right now. There are probably alot of typos, so sorry. Tell me if you want and I will edit :D**

* * *

"_50, count them, 50 of the 100 have been sent home today. The remaining 48 will now be seeing the king for the second time, and if he doesn't like them by the end of that meeting, they will be sent home too. All eyes are on Paris to see who our Queen will be. It has been no surprise that Doctor Jane Foster has become a fan favorite. Last week, information recovered from the files of disbanded organization S.H.I.E.L.D. showed that Dr. Foster was acquainted with Asgardians before the rest of the world even knew about them, and had met Thor while studying the very phenomenon that allowed him and others to travel here. Unconfirmed reports state that the King has taken special interest in the astrophysicist._

_Coming up: The 50 tell all; Felicia de Maurier tells us what her experience was like in Versailles with the 100."_

* * *

Jane, Fredrika, Anita, Jaina, and Meria all stood around staring at the contents of the black velvet box delivered to Jane's room as they had brunch.

"Well, I can't say I've never seen a diamond in the flesh anymore," Fredrika said, reaching out a hand to, lightly, touch the diamond necklace inside.

The necklace had a matching set of teardrop earrings, a diamond bracelet, and silver and gold diamond encrusted watch, and an enormous diamond ring.

"Jane, do you want this present?" Anita asked, "Because if you don't, please give it to me before throwing it out the window."

"Can I have the ring?" Fredika said, trying it on. "It's my size!"

"Sure," Jane said. Meria picked up the earrings. "Can I?"

"Yeah, go ahead."

Once the gifts were divided up, Jane kept the bracelet for Darcy.

* * *

"Stop sending her things," Loki told Anne firmly.

"What girl doesn't like diamonds?" Anne pouted.

"Stop sending her things with my name on it," he told her with finality she understood and obeyed. Loki's observatory was not nearly as big as the one in Asgard, nor the one he would build with his ice palace. But it did allow him to see above and beyond this realm, which was a comfort to him. The universe is a vast place, full of things darker than imagination, bright as burning stars. He had seen a lot of it when Thor dropped him off the edge of the bifrost, the darkest corners of the galaxies. And the some of his memories of that time made him shudder to recall, it left him with an indelible impression. When Loki looked to the stars, he was home.

"Bring Jane here," he told Anne, "I'll meet the others in the throne room."

Jane was running late, since no one would agree on what she should wear or how to do her hair. Jane was particularly peeved that she was not consulted the entire time. They had finally settled on an unassuming gray sundress and gray flats, her hair in loose waves. Anne was impatiently waiting outside the throne room for her, her silver louboutins clicking angrily on the ground.

"Come, come!" Anne rushed her. They entered the throne room and as soon as the doors close, Anne made a beeline for the side door. "Miss Foster, follow me."

"Doctor," Jane corrected. "Where are we going?"

"The king's observatory!"

It would be a lie to say Jane wasn't excited, and she hurried after Anne. It turned out that Versailles still had the old servant stairwells and hallways. It was a labyrinth within a labyrinth. Anne kept hurrying forward and Jane only managed not to get lost by following the telltale click-clickity-click-click of her shoes. They finally arrived at a large glass door. Anne turned on her toes, facing Jane. "Ok, listen. I know you hate the king and I know you don't like the diamonds I sent you, though I can't imagine why, but actually listen to him today. Just once, please. I promise you, you will not regret it."

Jane looked at Anne, truly looked at her, for the first time. She was a classically beautiful woman, but the corners of her eyes and mouth spoke of worry. It wasn't self-centered worry either. This was a woman who only worried over others. Honestly, Jane thought her breed was almost extinct.

"I will."

Anne sighed and relaxed. Then she lifted her shoulders, and pushed open the doors. "Jane Foster, sir."

"Come in."

Jane stepped into the massive room. In the center of the room was an enormous pool water, so still it could be glass. Though it defied logic, a perfect image of the night sky was reflected in the pool. In room was a doom, and from the looks of several stories higher than the highest point in the palace; much higher than the greenhouse she had been looking at the stars from. There was one telescope (also much bigger than hers) but it was off to the side. There was what looked like an enormous scope in the ceiling, which had a track that ran straight through the room. Loki was standing next to the pool, observing the stars. Jane barely recognized him; he was wearing a simple green, long sleeved tunic with black pants. He was leaning forward slightly, his loose hair falling around his face and brow. He seemed…at peace. She tried to find it, but there was very little threating about _this_ Loki.

Without looking up, her raised and arm and beckoned her to his side. She refrained from snapping _I'm not a dog_ and walked over to him. She looked down at the pool and suddenly realized

"These aren't right."

Loki looked up at her and smirked. "They aren't your usual sights, but I assure you they are correct."

"How?" Jane looked up at the strange scope.

"Magic," Loki shrugged off.

"No, really," Jane said, examining the pool; there was no device attached to the stone. "Explain it to me."

Loki watched her examining her surrounding s for a moment before explaining. "The scope. It gathers the images of the realms and…projects the images into this pool."

"How?"

"Magic."

Jane gave him a sardonic look before returning to the pool. "So you can adjust this thing to give me an image of any galaxy?"

"I can."

"Any realm?"

"I can."

"Show me Asgard."

Loki frowned. "Why Asgard?"

"Why not?" Jane jumped up onto the edge of the pool and lightly poked the water. The stars rippled and the asteroid belts waved. Loki caught her hand before she went to poke it again. "Don't do that."

He walked over to a ladder near the scope, climbing it to the top, where he opened a panel in the side. A holodigital display appeared and he typed in a few coordinates. Without delay, the scope adjusted with a grating sound. It shifted along the celling while twisting to focus.

Jane glanced down at the pool. The stars had shifted, and an array of cosmic colors filled the image.

"These are the stars as they would be seen in Asgard,"Loki said, coming to stand beside her again. Part of Jane, the scientist part, wanted to map out new constellations and do all sorts of science-Jane things. Another part, the part that stared at the stars at night to relax, to not think, wanted to just marvel at the sight. And she did. And as she did, Loki pointed to a cluster of stars here and there and told her the names, and the stories of the names.

It was a quiet, comfortable moment. Jane could almost forget that he was the enemy, and Loki could forget she hated him.

Anne knocked on the door. "It's time, sir."

"It's been an hour already?" Jane exclaimed. Usually it took her all of five minutes to escape these situations.

"Actually an hour and a half. I didn't want to disturb you."

Jane felt a pang of disappointment. She told herself it was because she had gathered no intel for her friends.

"A moment, Anne. We'll be out in a moment."

Anne nodded her assent before closing the door. Loki moved away from the pool and retrieved a ring with two keys. He returned to the pool and offered it to Jane. She took it hesitantly. "What is this?"

"One key is for this room. You can come here whenever you like. The second one is for the dungeon. That is where Thor is."

Jane's brow crinkled. "So I can visit your beaten and bloodied brother?"

"He's free to go." Loki looked down at the pool intently, as if it held some secret. "I thought I would better if you told him and brought him out. The guards will help you."

"I don't understand. You're letting him go? Just like that? Even though I haven't agreed to by your queen?"

"It's unlikely that you would say yes if he died anyway," Loki retorted. "He's broken. I have no use for him anymore."

Jane stared at Loki until he turned and looked at her. "I don't believe you."

"You have the key. It doesn't matter if you believe me." He turned away and wore a look of such self lothing Jane did something she would later justify as gaining his trust. She wrapped her arms around Loki and hugged him tightly, but briefly. "Thank you."

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**oshiete oshiete yo sono shikumi wo...**


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